


Aftermath

by MentallyUnstableUnicorn



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Accidents, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Viktor with a K, kind of, taken from the ice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:08:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24354097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MentallyUnstableUnicorn/pseuds/MentallyUnstableUnicorn
Summary: This was in response to a challenge prompt:"An injury during practices leaves one of our characters unable to find a life back on the ice. What sort of injury is it? What are their plans for the future since their career is cut short? Is it a blessing in disguise or a sudden change they weren't nearly prepared to face?"
Relationships: Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Comments: 3
Kudos: 28
Collections: Random_mostly_lgbt_fics





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> While I am trying to find my way back to writing, I joined a Yuri on Ice group that includes biweekly writing prompts, so I decided why not share the result here.  
> My writing is exceptionally rusty and I am trying get used to what my writing voice sounds like and improving it so any suggestions or comments are welcome. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Yuuri stood outside the rink, looking at the doors while the feeling of hot lead settled in his stomach. The doors looked inconspicuous to anyone who passed them, but to Yuuri, they looked like insurmountable iron gates. He felt a cold sweat break out, his breath becoming a little ragged as he tried to calm the swelling storm that threatened to overtake him. 

Viktor leaned forward and looked at him with concern but said nothing. He knew that there was nothing he could say that would make Yuuri feel better at that moment. The emotions over the accident were still too raw, and Viktor knew Yuuri thought he was the cause of it all. 

Viktor reached out and grabbed onto his husband’s hand. He gave it a small reassuring squeeze as Yuuri’s eyes snap from the door and look down at him. Viktor is hopeful for a moment that Yuuri will understand that he is supportive. Still, that look in his eyes told Viktor what was going to happen even before Yuuri started moving. 

“I-I can’t do this.” He whispered, pain lacing his voice. He quickly pulled his hand free from Viktor’s and ran down the stairs away from the club. Viktor watched him leave torn between following him or giving him space when Yurio popped his head out and looked at Viktor. 

“Running away again?” Yurio spat, but his words weren’t as harsh as Viktor expected them to be. It took Viktor a moment to pull his gaze away from the empty space Yuuri had left when he rounded the corner. Eventually, he moved again, and Yurio held the door open for him as he passed. 

\---

“Again!” Viktor barked out as Yurio brought his arms down, marking the end of the sequence that they had spent the last hour working on. The teen bristled. This was the fifth time in a row that Viktor forced him to run the same section of his program without telling him what he was doing wrong, and it got on his nerves. He was used to Viktor’s callous remarks and interruptions while he was skating. It was strange to try and do it while the man remained silent. 

“Taking it out on me won’t bring him back,” Yurio muttered before skating to the board and grabbing his water bottle. Viktor glared at the young boy, his icy stare a stark contrast to the carefully places media smile that graced his lips. 

“You’re right, Yurio.” Viktor moved backward and turned towards the door before throwing over his shoulder, “You’re on your own for now.” He let his mask drop as he looked towards the door leaving a sputtering Yurio in his wake. Yakov caught up to him before he made it to the doorway, another obstacle that he didn’t have the energy to deal with at the moment. 

He stopped when the coach called his name and waited for the older man to come to him, refusing to backtrack his progress to the door. He was going home, and there was nothing that anyone could say to dissuade him. 

“Leaving so soon, Vitya? You have only been here an hour.” Yakov was gruff by his very nature. Viktor was used to him yelling at him, criticizing everything from his skating to his personal life. The soft edges in his tone now didn’t suit Yakov, and it grated on Viktor’s nerves. 

“I need to go and check on him.” Viktor shot back like it was obvious what his motivation was, and in some respects, it was. Yuuri hadn’t come back since the accident. Yuuri was the center of Viktor’s world, everyone knew it. So if there was no Yuuri, there would be no Viktor. 

“You can’t force him back.” Yakov laid a hand on Viktor’s shoulder in comfort, but it felt more like a burning iron. He jerked his body forward to remove the offending appendage. 

“You think I don’t know that?” Viktor said pain lacing every word. He looked at Yakov until the coach just nodded his head in understanding. Viktor made a beeline towards the door. Yakov sighed and held it open for him. He stopped halfway through the doorway and looked up at Yakov with a sad expression. “I know I can’t force him back. But I can’t be here without him either. It feels… wrong.” 

\---

When Viktor entered the house, it was quite. The curtains were drawn, preventing any light from entering. It was almost as if Viktor could physically feel the depression lingering in the air, getting heavier the closer he got to the bedroom. When he opened the door, he saw Yuuri curled up in a ball in the center of their bed. His breathing was shallow and every once in a while, his shoulders would shake from the strain of holding back another sob. 

“Hey,” Viktor spoke softly like he was addressing a wounded animal. He knew that they hadn’t fought at the rink, Viktor would never hold this decision against Yuuri, and he knew that deep down his husband knew that as well. But that didn’t mean that both of them weren’t hurting from what happened either. 

Yuuri slowly pushed himself up off the bed and looked over at Viktor. His pain was clearly written all over his face. It broke Viktor’s heart to see him like this, but this was all he had seen from Yuuri for the past three weeks. They looked at one another for a moment, Yuuri trying to find his words, Viktor evaluating his own before speaking, not wanting to send the wrong message. 

“Come here, love.” He said slowly and opened his arms. Yuuri hesitated, but eventually, his body unfurled and he walked over to Viktor, leaning over to give him a hug. He squeaked in surprise when Viktor grabbed his waist and spun him around so that he fell on Viktor’s lap. 

“No, no, no!” He cried out in alarm and tried to push himself off of Viktor, but Viktor held him tightly and waited for him to settle down. “I-I don’t want to hurt you.” 

“I know solnyshko, but you aren’t going to hurt me, at least not physically.” Yuuri physically cringed at that statement. Viktor sighed; maybe his choice of words was not the best. “That isn’t what I meant.” Yuuri finally settles down and allows Viktor to hold him. If a small wet spot appeared on Viktor’s shirt from where Yuuri’s head rested, neither spoke about it. 

“This isn’t your fault.” Viktor’s soft voice filled the room a little while later. Yuuri sat back and looked at him. Was that pain that Viktor saw in his eyes. 

“How can you say this isn’t my fault?” 

They looked at one another for a long moment. Yuuri looking like he was about to break, and Viktor concerned about his mental health. Viktor closed his eyes while he spoke. 

“I am not sure what you exactly remember happening that day.” He let the images of the accident run through his mind. “I was skating, something we do every day, something that we both know comes with risk. I was the one who wasn’t watching where I was going, Yuuri. I was the one who failed to notice that you stepped on the ice. I am the one that ran into you. I hurt you, Yuuri. You hit your head on the ice, and I was petrified because you wouldn’t wake up.” 

Yuuri shook his head violently. “I knew better than to step on the ice when I did. You were running your program, you were close to the boards. I just wasn’t thinking.” He took a shaky breath, “I was picking on Yurio while skating backward, I wasn’t paying attention. I skated into your line.” He threw himself forward and grabbed Viktor and sobbed. “I skated into your line and that’s why you hit me.” 

“Oh Yuuri,” Viktor pulled him back and gently took his face between his hands, wiping away the trails of tears. “Look, this right here is temporary.” Victor gestured at the cast that covered his leg and foot. “This thing won’t be here much longer,” He motioned to the wheelchair they were sitting on. “I am here, and I am okay.” He peppered his husband’s face with kisses. “Really, I am okay.” 

“But you won’t be able to skate anymore,” Yuuri whispered, refusing to meet Viktor’s eyes. 

“No, I won’t,” he replied nonchalantly. He watched Yuuri stiffen at the admission. It was the first time they had spoken about it out loud with one another, but skating wasn’t the thing that was holding him together anymore. Skating was something that he enjoyed, yes. And while he may no longer be able to perform as he could before, he would find his way to the ice again someday. Even if it only looked like skating lazy circles with his husband on an empty rink, Viktor would skate somehow. 

“But I have a better job now than I ever had while I was skating. I get to focus on being your coach.” He punctuated the point with a kiss to Yuuri’s nose. 

“And when I retire?” 

“Well, then I get to focus on my favorite job in the whole world, being your husband.” Yuuri couldn’t help but let out a stilted laugh. “It’s true. Maybe I will work on coaching others or being a choreographer later on down the road, but for now, I just want to focus on you because I may not be on the ice, but you keep me involved with the ice.”

“I took so much from you, I ended your career Viktor,” He looked away unsure of how he was supposed to overcome the knowledge that he had taken something so precious away from his husband. 

“The only thing that you have taken away from me Yuuri, is you.” Yuuri’s eyes snapped to him, confused. “I miss seeing you smile. I miss seeing you skate. I miss seeing you dance your way through making dinner without a care in the world.” He leaned forward and kissed Yuuri’s forehead. “I miss you.” 

They clung to one another for several long minutes. The silence was not overwhelming as it had been before. It wasn’t quite companionable either. It was like Yuuri was trying to work something out in his mind. 

He wheeled both of them over to the bed, a move that took some practice, but somehow they managed. Yuuri stood up and helped transfer Viktor from the chair to the edge of the bed. Once Viktor had settled down, he reached out for Yuuri, who curled up against him. The room quieted, and eventually, Yuuri’s breath evened out. Viktor had thought that he had fallen asleep and was startled when he heard Yuuri speak. 

“Let’s lay here a little longer then… maybe… we can try going to the rink again.” Yuuri felt Viktor’s smile against the nape of his neck and couldn’t help but do the same. 

“Okay, zolotse. That sounds like a plan.”


End file.
